Madalyn Backstrom Class of 2006 (11/10)
Madalyn spent her four years of high school away from home. She attended Immaculate Conception Academy in Wakefield, Rhode Island. ICA is an all girl high school where young women discern a call to consecrated life. After graduation, Madalyn returned to Minnesota where she is planning on continuing her education and obtain a degree in Elementary Education. Madalyn, is currently working at Cedarcrest Academy as an aide for Pre-School. She is applying all that she learned from both schools, helping students both academically as well as spiritually.
Anna Beddor Class of 2006 (11/10)
Anna is a recent graduate of Providence Academy. While at Providence she was a member of the National Honor Society. Anna not only excelled in academics but in athletics as well. She played varsity softball for three years and advanced to state finals for tennis in her junior and senior years. Anna is currently a freshman out east at Boston College. She is pursuing a degree in nursing.
Tim Charmoli Class of 2006 (11/10)
Tim graduated this spring from Rogers High School. During his high school years he represented Rogers High School in many athletic sports. Tim lettered in football, track and weight lifting. He was named Offensive Lineman of the Year. He placed 4th in discus and 5th in shot put at state sectionals. Tim is currently attending North Hennepin Community College and working at Cabella’s in Rogers.
Bridget Stone Class of 2006 (11/10)
Bridget recently graduated from Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria. She graduated with honors; named AP Scholar with honors and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Bridget was also a finalist for the Presidential Scholarship. She is currently a freshman at St. Louis University in St. Louis and belongs to the Honors Program Learning Community. Bridget is pursuing a degree in Communication Disorders.
Philip Schmitz Class of 2006 (11/10)
Philip graduated from Providence Academy after starting high school at the much larger Wayzata High School. Philip took advantage of the smaller school setting by trying out for football for the first time in his life as a junior. He lettered in football his senior year. In his senior speech he challenged his fellow students as well as those staff in attendance with one of the larger questions in life with a talk titled “Death and Dying”. Philip is attending the University of Wisconsin-Stout and plans to pursue a degree in Engineering.
Cory Walz Class of 2006 (11/10)
Cory is currently a freshman at the University of Wisconsin Stout where he is studying Pre-Pharmacy. He was accepted to the Applied Math and Science department and received the Chancellors Honor Scholarship that recognizes his high academic achievements in high school. As a part of this honor, Cory was invited to live on campus two weeks early and serve as a mentor to other incoming freshmen. He plans to finish his course work at UW-Stout and pursue graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Anne Vogel Class of 2006 (11/10)
Anne Vogel graduated from high school in May 2010 and is now giving a year of missionary service to the Catholic Church in Providence, Rhode Island after which she plans to complete a college degree in business. For high school, Anne completed 2 years at Wayzata High School and 2 years at North Hennepin Community College through the Post Secondary Education Option earning more than two years of college credit, graduating with honors and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Julie Vogel Class of 2001 (5/10)
Julie attended Providence Academy for two years finishing her high school at college through the Post Secondary Education Option. During this time she was a Group Leader for Challenge teams as well as a youth missionary for a summer in Mexico. After graduation, Julie dedicated one year to the Church with RC Mission Corp volunteers in Southern California. Julie then attended Benedictine College and graduated in May 2009 with a liberal arts degree in Human Resources. Julie was married at St. Walburga in Rogers, MN on July 18, 2009 to Daniel Gonzales. She now resides in Atlanta, GA, with her husband, where she is employed at Medical Staffing Resources in their Human Resource Department.
Laura Janas Class of 2002
(written by Laura for the Flame)
As a Cedarcrest student I dreamed of some day getting to see the Pope or go to Rome and stand in St. Peter’s Square .I never imagined, however, that seven years later I would actually spend four months of my life living and studying in Rome, with the Vatican a short twenty minutes away. It is said that “all roads lead to Rome” and this might be true, for a considerable number of Cedarcrest alumni have also visited the Eternal City, and five others have lived there
for a significant period of time.—Br. Chris Vogel (class of 1999), Br. Jacob Schmitz (class of 2000), Luke Olson (class of 2000), Nick Olson (class of 2003), and Jonathan Wilder(class of 2003). I spent the fall semester of 2008 in Rome through the Catholic Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas. I was awed and humbled many times as I visited historically significant and holy sites and realized that I was walking in the footsteps of saints and martyrs as well as hundreds of thousands of faithful Catholics who had come before me. One of the highlights in Rome was the week of Christmas. I attended Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s and my family arrived the day after Christmas. My time in Rome was the most memorable of my life and taught me many things that I will treasure always. I have realized that our Catholic faith really is universal, it is the same no matter where you go, it is never ending, and it transcends language barriers, societal structures and cultural differences. The Church truly is for everyone, and it was only by being one in a crowd of thousands in St. Peter’s Square that I truly realized that.
Kathryn De Valle Class of 2005 (11/09)
Kathryn is a recent graduate of Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota Heights. She has kept herself busy working at the Little Sisters of the Poor as well as writing for the Conservative newspaper. Shortly after graduation, Kathryn began her college career at Stanford University where she shadowed in the ER and rode with the paramedics. Kathryn is pursuing a degree in Medical Science emphasizing in ER medicine.
Matthew Kopp Class of 2005 (5/10)
Matthew recently graduated from Providence Academy in Plymouth. During his high school years he stayed active participating in track, band, as well as being the varsity soccer goalie. Matthew was also given the honor of being ‘head boy’ of all the boy houses at Providence. He was an AAA winner, a prestigious award recognizing high achievement in arts, academics and athletics. Matthew also stayed active with singing in the church choir at St. Anne’s in Hamel, visiting Australia for World Youth Day and working at Windsong Golf Course. He is currently a freshman at St. Thomas University where he would like to major in Business Advertising.
Ravi Knutson Class of 2005 ( 11/09)
Ravi graduated this spring from DelaSalle High School in Minneapolis. During his high school years he represented DelaSalle at the state competition in Chess, as well as placed 4th in state at the Minnesota History Day for his research paper. During the summer he volunteered at St. Therese in New Hope. Ravi was awarded two scholarships to Gustavus Adolophus in St. Peter. He is studying Biology and is interested in working in a health-related field.